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Dobutamine 250 mg/20 ml (12.5 mg/ml) intravenous solution at UPMC Mercy

1400 Locust Street, Pittsburgh, PA · UPMC · · NPI 163914308

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Mar 6, 2026 · Ingested Aug 13, 2026

$134.40

Cash price

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Discounted cash price

What a hospital charges a self-pay patient who pays directly, without going through insurance — usually well below the gross charge.

Example: A CT scan has a $3,200 gross charge but an $850 discounted cash price. Ask for it by name when scheduling — hospitals don't always advertise it up front.

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What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.

$224.00

Gross charge

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Gross charge (chargemaster price)

The hospital's full, undiscounted list price — pulled from its internal "chargemaster" price list. Almost no one actually pays this.

Example: A chest X-ray has a gross charge of $1,450. The same hospital's discounted cash price for the same X-ray is $180 — the gross charge mostly anchors negotiations, not what patients pay.

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The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.

$4.47 with UPMC Health Plan vs $66.15 with Highmark BCBS of PA — same scan, same building. Share

Negotiated rates by payer
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Negotiated rate

The price a specific insurance plan agreed to pay the hospital for a service — it varies by insurer, and even by plan within the same insurer.

Example: The same knee MRI has a negotiated rate of $904 with one insurer's PPO plan and $1,509 with another's — identical hospital, identical scan.

Full explanation →

Payer
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Payer

The insurance company footing the bill — Aetna, UnitedHealthcare, Medicare, and so on.

Example: "Blue Cross Blue Shield" is the payer. Its negotiated rate for an MRI might be $904, while a different payer's negotiated rate for the same scan is $1,509.

Full explanation →
Plan
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Plan

The specific product an insurer sells — e.g. "Blue Cross PPO 500" — which sets your deductible, coinsurance and negotiated rates.

Example: Two people both insured by Aetna can owe very different amounts for the same MRI: $50 with an HMO plan's flat copay, or the full $1,200 toward a high-deductible PPO plan's unmet deductible.

Full explanation →
Negotiated rate vs. cash
UPMC Health Plan Managed Medicaid $4.47 ↓ -97%
AmeriHealth Caritas Community HealthChoices (CHC)/Medicaid $7.08 ↓ -95%
Geisinger Medicaid/CHIP $7.08 ↓ -95%
PA Health & Wellness Community Health Choices/PA Medicaid HMO $7.08 ↓ -95%
UPMC Health Plan Commercial $8.71 ↓ -94%
UPMC Health Plan CHIP $11.43 ↓ -91%
Aetna Medicare $14.00 ↓ -90%
Aetna Neighborhood Network $15.62 ↓ -88%
Highmark BCBS of PA Complete Blue Medicare Advantage/Freedom Blue Medicare Advantage/Security Blue Medicare Advantage $16.88 ↓ -87%
Aetna Home Depot Employer Group $17.05 ↓ -87%
Aetna NBR ASO/FI $17.36 ↓ -87%
Cigna New Business ASO $19.04 ↓ -86%
UPMC Work Partners Workers Comp $19.45 ↓ -86%
Bravo Medicare $19.60 ↓ -85%
Aetna EBR FI $21.28 ↓ -84%
Aetna EBR ASO $22.40 ↓ -83%
Cigna Commercial $22.40 ↓ -83%
Coventry/First Health Commercial $24.64 ↓ -82%
Highmark Wholecare (prev Gateway) Medicare $28.00 ↓ -79%
InterGroup PPO $28.00 ↓ -79%
Cigna Behavioral Health Commercial $33.60 ↓ -75%
Private Health Care Systems PPO $42.00 ↓ -69%
American Healthcare Group Commercial $44.80 ↓ -67%
InterGroup Approved National Affiliated PPO Business $44.80 ↓ -67%
National Provider Network PPO $45.92 ↓ -66%
Highmark BCBS of PA Managed Care - Social Mission $48.02 ↓ -64%
Highmark BCBS of PA Commercial - Social Mission Indemnity $49.39 ↓ -63%
Health Payors Organization Commercial $50.40 ↓ -63%
Multiplan PPO (inc. Auto and Worker's Compensation) $50.40 ↓ -63%
Highmark BCBS of PA Managed Care $64.32 ↓ -52%
Highmark BCBS of PA Commercial - Indemnity $66.15 ↓ -51%

Visitor-reported prices

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Dobutamine 250 mg/20 ml (12.5 mg/ml) intravenous solution at other Pennsylvania hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UPMC Passavant-McCandless Pittsburgh $204.00 $4.47 – $50.36
UPMC Presbyterian Pittsburgh $556.80 $4.47 – $50.15
UPMC St. Margaret Pittsburgh $225.60 $4.47 – $47.60
UPMC Western Psychiatric Pittsburgh $138.60 $7.08 – $50.36
UPMC Muncy Muncy $162.00 $4.35 – $26.10
UPMC Northwest Seneca $297.00 $4.47 – $56.02
UPMC Wellsboro Wellsboro $162.00 $5.22 – $26.10
UPMC Williamsport Williamsport $81.00 $7.08 – $26.10

All Pennsylvania hospitals for this procedure →